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One Last Record …
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If you were with us last week, you know that I am a big fan of football statistics, particularly Colorado statistics. You also know that it has pained me as, over the past three-plus seasons, the Dan Hawkins’ regime has made a mockery of what has been built over the past twenty seasons. There are a number of statistical categories which Dave Plati, Associate Athletic Director / Sports Information, has been pushing in his media game day releases, all of which have been going south:
When Dan Hawkins took over, the Buffs had the 8th-best record in the nation since 1989 – now Colorado is at 23rd, and falling;
When Dan Hawkins took over, the Buffs had the 8th-best road record in the nation since 1988 – now Colorado is 13th, and falling (fast);
When Dan Hawkins took over, the Buffs had been ranked in over 70% of the polls since 1989 – now Colorado is hovering near 50%, and falling.
Dave Plati also charts Colorado in comparison to the rest of the Big 12 with respect to conference road wins, intra-division records, and inter-division records since 1996.
Guess which way the Buffs have been moving since 2006?
Perhaps the record blown during the Dan Hawkins tenure which is most egregious is the Buffs’ scoring streak. Dating back to the 7-0 loss to Nebraska in 1988 (somewhere J.J. Flannigan, who inexplicably fumbled the ball while in the clear in the second quarter, is cringing), Colorado had scored in every game. The streak reached 235 games before the Buffs were humiliated by Missouri, 58-0, in Columbia last season. The streak was the ninth longest in NCAA history – and it will take the Buffs until sometime in 2027 to match it.
There will also be another standard set this season. This year will – in all likelihood be the Buffs’ fourth consecutive losing season. It will mark only the second time in school history Colorado fans have endured four consecutive losing seasons (six seasons – 1979-1984).
There is one last record, though, which even the Buffs under Dan Hawkins hasn’t set – a record even Dave Plati fails to mention.
The University of Colorado joined the Big Six in 1948. Not once during the Buffs’ tenure in the Big Seven, the Big Eight (Oklahoma State joined in 1958), nor the Big 12 (since 1996), has Colorado finished in last place in football.
Let me state that again. Not once, as in NEVER, have the Buffs finished last alone in Big Seven, Big Eight, or Big 12 play. True, the Buffs have finished in sixth in the Big Seven, tied for seventh in the Big Eight, and 5th in the Big 12 North, but Colorado has never finished alone in the Conference basement.
In fact, you have to go back to 1915, when Colorado finished with an 0-5 record in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, to find the Buffs (who were not even the “Buffs” back then) alone in last place.
In 2009, the 92-year old record will likely be broken. True, Colorado wakes up this morning with a 1-3 Big 12 record, tied with Missouri and Kansas in the cellar. Those two teams will play each other to end the season, a game which one team will win. Kansas does have the tougher road to a second conference win, with games against Kansas State, Nebraska, and Texas before the Missouri game. As a result, if Colorado can beat Texas A&M to post a second Big 12 victory, the Buffs maybe – just maybe – can avoid finishing alone in last place this season.
Maybe.
Dan Hawkins currently has a record of 15-30. He has a losing record against every other Big 12 North team except Iowa State. His teams have endured some of the most embarassing losses (see: Montana State, 2006), and lopsided losses (see: Missouri, 2008) in school history.
I’ve been on board with 2009 being the last season for Dan Hawkins since the Toledo debacle.
He has blown or decimated almost every record of accomplishment the program has posted over the past twenty seasons.
One last record to go …